A two-alarm fire that broke out Sunday morning at a lakeside housing complex in St. Clair Shores left four families looking for temporary living quarters.

Fire officials were still investigating the cause of the blaze that started in the fireplace of a residence at the St. Clair by the Lake condominiums on the 33300 block of East Jefferson Avenue north of Masonic Boulevard.

"We received a 911 call about heavy smoke coming from the chimney and when we arrived on scene, we found heavy smoke coming from the structure," said St. Clair Shores Battalion Chief Michael Witt. "It quickly progressed from there."

Firefighters were called at 7:50 a.m. by the homeowner who started the fire. Upon arrival, they evacuated the units and began working to extinguish the blaze.

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At one point, the roof of the two-story structure along with the first and second floor collapsed into the basement. No injuries were reported to either firefighters or residents of the complex.

Witt said a second alarm was called, which triggered assistance from Clinton Township, Fraser, Harrison Township, Roseville and Warren fire departments, along with the Selfridge Air National Guard mobile air unit.

Selfridge provided a compression system that refilled the air cylinders for the firefighters, which Witt said was an invaluable service.

It took more than three hours to get the blaze under control. Two of the units were a total loss and two others were also damaged but all four are uninhabitable. The American Red Cross was expected to help the families find temporary shelter.

City assessing records show each of the units are worth about $180,000.